Everton reportedly failed with a move for Omar El Hilali during the summer, and they would need to trigger his release clause to stand a chance on the player.

According to Mundo Deportivo via Sport Witness, Everton failed with a move for Omar El Bilali during the summer window. The Toffees were one of the teams that made a bid for the Espanyol right back, with the Spanish side now pointing towards his increased release clause for suitors to stand a chance at signing him.

Everton had a good enough summer window, with Davi Moyes getting some interesting signings through the door. While many of the areas of his squad are stronger than they were last season, there are some zones the manager wanted to bolster, such as the right-back position.

Everton were interested in bringing in a new player in the right-back slot, but could not find the right player. Juanlu Sanchez rejected an approach to make his way to Napoli, while there were other names that the Toffees were keen to sign.

It appears there was another player in the mix, as Everton failed with a move for Omar El Hilali. The Espanyol defender was of interest to many teams, including Nottingham Forest and Como. Espanyol received a few bids for the defender, with Como’s reported €14 million offer the highest as per the story.

Espanyol, due to their late escape from relegation last season, had some power to reject those offers, as they wanted his then-release clause of €25 million paid for the defender. Everton are already thinking about making another approach in January, but now the release clause has seen a slight increase.

Everton must pay the release clause to sign Omar El Hilali

A clause in El Hilali’s contract at Espanyol ensured the release clause was increased by €5 million as soon as the player made his international debut for Morocco. He did that during the international break, meaning now Everton or any other interested club must trigger a €30 million exit clause to stand a chance to sign the player.

The Toffees might consider the €30m-rated star from La Liga club as a big option in January, given their shortcomings in the right-back slot. For instance, they currently have the injured Nathan Patterson and 36-year-old Seamus Coleman as their main options, although it is towering centre-back Jake O’Brien who is taking up the right-back slot, as has been the case since the second half of last season.